Suction cleaner



n July 7, 1936.

D. G. SMELLIE SUCTION CLEANER Filed Jan. 31, 1954 l3 sheets-sheet 1 ATTORNEY July l7, 1936. Q SMELLIE 2,046,658

SUCTION CLEANER Filed Jan. 3l, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 f/ 5MM 5&1 6am/Hrw. Y ATTORNEY July 7, 1936.

D. G. SMELLIE sUCTIoN CLEANER Fil-ed Jan. 31,

1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY Patented July 7, 1936 PATENT OFFICE SUCTION CLEANER Donald G. Smellie, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, h10, a

corporation of Ohio Application `lanualnr 3l, 1934, erial No. 709,058

The present invention relates to suction cleaners in general and particularly to a new and novel relationship oi parts in a suction cleaner. More .speciiically the invention comprises a suction cleaner in which no relative movement takes place between the fan chamber, the bag and the cleaner handle, the latter being of the usual type which pivots in the operation of the machine.

It is anvobject of the present invention to provide a new and improved suction cleaner. it is 5 which the cleaner nozzle is fixedly mounted on a supporting frame provided with height-adjusting means, the remainder of the machine being plvotally connected to this frame. Still another object is the provision of a suction cleaner in which 33 pivotal movement takes place 'at a joint between the fan chamber and the cleaner nozzle. These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specication and claims, and upon considering in connection therewith the 25 attached drawings to which they relate:

Referring now to the drawings in which preierred embodiments of the present invention are disclosed, and in which the same reference character refers to like parts throughout:

Mgure 1 is a longitudinal cross section through a cleaner constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a iront view of the cleaner shown e in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a side elevation on a reduced scale, the cleaner being shown in the storage position in dotted lines;

Figure 4 is a section upon the line Ei-l of Figure i through the cleaner handle;

Figure 5 is a section through the pivotal connection in the cleaner;

Figure 6 is a side view of the cleaner, partly in section, showing dusting tools connected for O- the-iioor cleaning;

Figure 7 is a front view of a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 8 is a section upon the line of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a side elevation of the embodiment 50 oi the invention shown in Figures l and 8;

55 including the fan, and the driving motor form the (ci renie) main body of the machine which is usually mounted upon iront and rear supporting wheels. A pivoted handle is connected somewhere to this body and to its upper end is connected the dust bag which is open at its lower end to the exhaust outlet of the fan chamber. In the operation of this type of machine as the cleaner is moved back.v and forth upon the surface covering by the operator, the handle pivots relative to the main body of the machine, and the dust bag, being connected to the handle at its upper end, bends or exes at its lower point of attachment at the exhaust outlet oi the cleaner. While this bending of the bag has no particularly undesirable effect if the dust bag be made of cloth, it has been discovered that when paper bags are used this repeated iiexing results in bag failure.

In suction cleaners constructed in accordance with the present invention no flexing is produced in the bag in cleaner operation. This result has been obtained without sacrificing cleaner eniciency through the use of parts which are too light to be capable o functioning in their intended manner. In applicants construction each part functions as in the ordinary clean'er with no sacrice in efficiency and the parts have been so arranged and related that no appreciable cleaner weight is supportedby the operator.

Referring again to the drawings, and Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, in particular, a suction cleaner constructed in accordance with the present invention is disclosed. The nozzle i is formed integrally with the supporting frame 2 which is movably supported upon spaced pairs oi front and rear supporting wheels 3, i and il, d, respectively. The iront wheels 3, 3 are pivotally mounted upon a transversely extending crank shaft 5 which is provided with height-adjusting means comprising a fixed positioned manually rotatable member d which extends in screw threaded relationship with a vertical shaft i which is directly connected to one end of the crank shaft for the purpose of adjusting its angular position and accordingly the height of the nozzle i above the surface covering undergoing cleaning.

The `driving motor d is formed with an enclosing casing and is positioned within spaced relation to the main casing 9 which is reduced at its forward end to form a fan chamber i. The suction-creating fan li is carried by the extended motor shaft and is positioned withinthis chamber l0, functioning in the operation of the machine, to draw air through the eye i2 of the fan chamber and exhaust it-rearwardly into the dust bag through the circular passageway formed between the motor 8 and casing 9.`

The casing including the fan chamber I0 is formed immediately outside the eye I2 as a transversely extending passageway or conduit I4 which extends in both directions at the sides of the eye I2, being flanged at its ends as indicated at I5, I5. Each end ange I5 is provided with an internal circular seat I6, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 5, and within this seat extends a circular seat member I1. These seats I1, I1 are mounted on the inner ends of the rearwardly extending air conduits I8, I8 which extend upwardly and rearwardly from the nozzle mouth to a position between the front and rear supporting wheels. Suitable air seals I9 space each seat I6 from its seat member I 1 and provide an air tight joint yet one permitting rotation between the two parts.

Control of the angular relationship between the suction-creating means and its supporting frame, in the absence of a positive pivoting force by the operator, is exerted by a spring-pressed detent 20 mounted on frame 2. Detent 20 includes a roller 2| at its end Winch rides upon the edge of an arcuate sector 22 carried by conduit I4. The sector edge is formed, atl spaced angular positions, and in the order given, with a seat 23, an elongated seat 24, and a second seat 25 similar to seat 23. With the cleaner within its usual working range, the roller detent 2| moves between the shoulders defining the limits of the elongated seat 24 preventing unintended movement from this range. With the machine in the storage position, that shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, the detent seats within the seat 23, while with the machine in the lower horizontal position the detent seats within the seat 25. 'I'he detent is removable from each of the seats by a sufficient pivoting force exerted upon the Iconstruction which would, of course, come from the cleaner handle.

The cleaner handle is indicated by the reference character 23, and is seen to extend parallel to the motor axis and adjacent the upper side of the bag I3. Its lower end seats within a socket 21 formed integrally on the main casing 8 and the incoming power leads 28, 28 to the motor extend downwardly through this handle, through a suitable plug connection 21a within the socket 21, and through a suitable conduit and support member 29 into the motor 8. It is seen that no relative pivotal movement is possible between the handle and the main casing of the cleaner, and that the suction-creating means, the bag and the handle pivot as a unit about the transverse axis through the seats I6, IE on the conduit I4.

The cleaner is so constructed that, with the suction-creating means pivoted to the lower horizontal position with the detent 2| within the seat 25, dusting tools may be attached to the suctioncreating means. To make this possible the transversely extending passageway I4 is provided centrally opposite the eye I2 with a removable cover plate 30 which is normally held in place through being snapped over the projecting heads of screws 3|, 3|. With the main body of the machine positioned with its axis horizontal and the cover plate 30 removed, the eye I2 of the fan chamber is exposed between the space conduits I8, I8 on the nozzle. The converter 32 can then be inserted through the passageway and into seating relationship with eye I2, the converter being retained in place byma leaf spring 33 which snaps over the head of the upper screw 3|.

Referring now to Figures '7 to 10, inclusive, the

second preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed. In this embodiment the nozzle I, its supporting frame 2, and the wheels 3, 3 and 4, 4 are related as in the first embodiment. The relationship between the transverse conduit I4 and the conduits I8, I8 is also the same as that previously described, and the position-controlling means are provided. In the present embodiment, however, the conduit I4 is formed on a fan chamber 4I) provided with a deilnite tangential exhaust outlet 4| which extends adjacent and parallel to the handle 26, which is itself xedly seated in the socket 44 on the chamber. To this outlet 4I is secured the dust bag 42 which extends along and at the side of the handle. As in the first embodiment no movement takes placev between the bag and the handle. As the exhaust passageway does not pass around the motor in this embodiment the motor 43 is exposed to view being secured to the back of the fan chamber 40. 20

The motor functions, as in the previous embodiment to drive a suction-creating fan, here indicated by the reference character 44.

I claim:

1. A suction cleaner comprising a nozzle, means movably supporting said nozzle for movement over a surface covering, a fan chamber formed with a transversely extending air conduit immediately adjacent its eye and communicating therewith, said conduit being interiorly connected to and mounted on said nozzle for rotation about a horizontal axis transverse to the direction of cleaner movement, said conduit being formed with an opening which faces forwardly with said conduit rotated to a certain position, movable means normally closing said opening, said nozzle, said conduit and said opening being shaped and arranged to permit the insertion of a dusting tool connection into said conduit through said opening, a fan in said chamber, a driving motor connected to said fan, a handle rigidly mounted relative to said fan chamber, and a bag connected to the exhaust outlet of said chamber and supported by said handle.

2. A suction cleaner comprising a nozzle formed with spaced air passageways extending rearwardly from the mouth thereof, a fan chamber formed with an air conduit communicating therewith and extending transversely to the major axis of said chamber, said conduit being interiorly connected to and mounted on said nozzle between said air passageways for rotation about a horizontal axis transverse to the direction of cleaner movement, said conduit being formed with an opening which faces forwardly between said air passageways with said conduit rotated to a certain position, manually movable means normally closing said opening, said opening being adapted to receive a dusting tool connection, a fan in said chamber, a driving motor connected to said fan, a handle rigidly mounted relative to said fan chamber, and a bag connected to the exhaust outlet of said chamber and supported by said handle.

3. A suction cleaner comprising a nozzle formed with spaced air passageways extending rearwardly from the mouth thereof, a fan chamber formed with an air conduit communicating therewith and extending transversely to the major axis o1' said chamber, said conduit being interiorly connected to and mounted on said nozzle between said air passageways for rotation about a longitudinal. axis parallel to itself, said conduit also being formed with an opening alined with the eye of lsaid fan chamber and adapted to receive a dusting' tool connection. said opening facing forwardly between said passageways in certain angular positions of said conduit to'permit the insertion ofsaid connection, manually movable means normally closing said opening, cooperating means on said nozzle and on said fan chamber exterior of said conduit retaining said conduit in certain angular positions and ranges of positions against unintended displacement, a fan in said fan chamber, a. driving motor connected to said fan, a. hanydle rigidly mounted relative to said fan chamber.

and a bag connected to said exhaust outlet.

DONALD G. SMELLIE.

CERTIFICATE oF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,046,656.v I 'July fr, 1966.

DONALD G. sMELLIE.

It is hereby Certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page l, second Column, line 48, after "within" insert in; page 2, second Column, line '72, claim 3, strike out the words "parallel to itse1`"; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these Corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the oase in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of October, A. D. 1936.

Henry Van Arsdale fSeal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

